The body's left behind but your brain definitely isn't! The Bodies Left Behind. Jeffery Deaver. (The Bodies Left Behind - Jeffery Deaver)

Member Name: GillMN

Product:	The Bodies Left Behind - Jeffery Deaver
Date:	23/06/09 (150 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very clever twists and turns. Highly unpredictable but completely believable.

Disadvantages: None. The art of storytelling at it's finest.

Jeffery Deaver generally writes brilliantly about serial killers and the solving of crime using 'state of the art' forensic technology. He is obviously well versed in latest crime solving technology and parlance. His research is meticulous.
Deaver is a massively intelligent writer, the only slight problem I have with him is the sinister photo of him on his book covers! I always wonder why he chose that photo?
He is the author of 25 extremely successful novels, many of which include Detective Kathryn Dance and/or Lincoln Rhyme a quadraplegic forensic genius. In this, his latest book, we have a departure from the norm in that it is low tech and include neither of his most famous fictional crime solvers. It is no less gripping for that though! I think it is his best novel so far.

***This review contains no spoilers.***

~~~Brief plot outline~~~

The story starts with a couple in their holiday home, a lake shore house in the wilds of Wisconsin. Masked men burst in and despite their begging they are brutally murdered. Their interupted call for help is reported to a local State Trooper, Brynn, who leaves her dinner to drive to the area to see if help is needed.

Within minutes of arriving at the scene Brynn finds herself hunted through the forest with a survivor of the carnage tagging along, who at times is far more hindrance than help. Without her phone or gun and without transport she has to get the two of them to safety as the killers desperately hunt them down. We see Brynn using her survival skills to survive, misdirect, flee and fight back, in turn.

On the face of it it's a simple enough story. However, the twists and turns of the plot are so finely woven together that I defy anyone to predict what is going to happen in the next chapter, never mind the ending!

To add depth, threaded through the narrative is the subplot of the tenuous relationships between Brynn, her Mother, her partner and her son and a question posed about whether Brynn's brutal first husband was shot accidentally or not? By Brynn or her five year old child? The subplot is written well enough to be told as a seperate story but acts as a counterpoint to the very tightly written main action in the forest.

Throw into the pot a handful of State Troopers trying to find Brynn, the extra assasin trying to hunt down the two who bungled the kill, some happy campers and you have a tale that will keep you riveted throughout.

Who will be "The bodies left behind"?

~~~Style~~~

The reader is kept guessing and guessing and guessing. (Mostly wrongly in my case and I predict that you will be caught out too.)

The main characters in the book are developed well. The hired assasin and his slightly less professional ally are forced into positions of trust with one another, their mutual distrust turns to grudging admiration and then something else. Brynn and her 'wannabee' actress partner in this desperate situation, learn a lot about each others strengths and almost fatal weaknesses. You end up really caring about Brynn even though she is exasperating at times, wanting to shake the young woman and praying that someone or something will get in the way of the hired killers.

Each character is developed well but unobtrusively. The fine descriptions of what motivates each individual adds to the plot rather than intrudes upon the action. Seemingly small points become salient as the story builds momentum.

The descriptions of the woodlands and lakes at night are very evocative and leave the reader in no doubt about what sort of unforgiving terrain the story is set in. In some ways it mirrors the interior life of the main protagonists.

I was very intrigued by the reluctantly developing admiration between the main assasin and Brynn as they needed to get into each other's mindset to outmanouvre one another. The way their relationship was described and developed by Jeffery Deaver added even greater depth to the multiple layers of story.

~~~Overall opinion~~~

I don't think I have read a book of this genre before that has kept me so gripped and suprised as the tale unfolded. It is a masterpiece of story telling. The action and suspense is maintained until the very last page.
Just as you think you have got it all sorted in your mind another twist is introduced and the probability dice are shaken up again!

As I finished reading I felt very satisfied. All the many elements of the narrative had been used. There were no irritating loose ends or red herrings. I feel as though I had been drawn in to a very intricate tapestry of human behaviour and relationship and have emerged slightly battered, wiser, excited and much less sanguine about my ability to predict outcomes!

Genre: Crime / Thriller
Author: Jeffery Deaver
Hardcover 368 Pages
Published 2008 by Simon & Schuster

Summary: The word 'Unputdownable' was coined for this book! A marvellous, compelling read.